The State College Area School District Education Foundation will induct the 2023 class of the Maroon & Gray Society at its annual celebration on May 20 at Centre Hills Country Club.
Started in 2018, the Maroon & Gray Society recognizes noteworthy school district alumni, faculty and contributors.
Alumni, families, faculty, retired faculty and the State College community are welcomed to attend the Maroon & Gray Society Celebration. Tickets are available online.
This years inductees are:
• “The Three Captains,“ siblings John Schempf (Class of 1958) and Paula Schempf Carroll (1962) and Peter Schempf (1966), have a combined 83 years of military service and earned the same senior rank of captain. John Schempf graduated from Dartmouth and was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1963, retiring in 1988. Paula Carroll graduated from Penn State and went on to serve in the Coast Guard for 29 years in the marine safety mission, helping to pave the way for other women in active service. Pete Schempf joined the Navy after graduating from State High in 1966 and went on to an accomplished 26-year career as an aviator and officer.
• Gerald “Gerry” Mansell (1972) enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from State High and later attended Northern Virginia Community College. In 1981, he enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry, known as “The Old Guard” and the oldest active regiment in the Army. He earned numerous medals and served around the world before retiring in 1995. Mansell then graduated cum laude from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and later retired as a portfolio analyst from Aris Corporation. He continues to volunteer as an instructor giving presentations about The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Arlington National Cemetery, where he volunteered for duty as a sentinel during his service.
• The 1973 Little Lions Football Team went 10-0 en route to winning a state championship. The team was led by head coach Jim Williams and its roster consisted of Kent Homan, Ed Boal, Paul Kanagy, Dennis DeLong, Tom Kerr, Norm Frye, Bo Ellis, Joe Rainelli, Matt Suhey, Harvey Hoffman, Ray Agostinelli, Larry Campolongo, Pat Snyder, Bruce Shaeffer, Chris Sefter, Sheldon Rider, Ned Eldrige, Mike Toretti, Allan Fulmer, Tim Gambocurta, Tom Basler, Dan Hopkins, Bill Curley, Scott Yocum, Tom Kistler, Craig Coder, John Sefter, Tom Fox, Dave Harris, Greg Smith, Gary Ellis, Clay Singletary, Chris Hoover and Paul Suhey.
• John Casey started his career in the district as an eighth-grade social studies teacher and later served as the principal of Mount Nittany Middle School. He helped lead the district’s transition from a junior high to a middle school format and is credited by one nominator as “an administrator who led with compassion, humor, honor and integrity.” Another nominator said “his clear and consistent communication, visibility, accessibility, leadership by example and his true compassion were the foundation that created a culture of trust and caring among our staff and students. We felt valued and respected.” Casey is now a consultant for school districts in Pennsylvania.
• Marissa Vicere (2001) founded the Jana Marie Foundation in State College after her older sister, Jana Vicere, died by suicide in 2010. The foundation uses “the power of creative expression and dialogue to spark conversations, build connections and promote mental health among young people and their communities.” Vicere, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Susquehanna University and MBA from Penn State, has grown the organization to directly impact more than 5,000 people each year. She has also been recognized as top nonprofit leader and a leader of community mental health initiatives. Among the nearly 20 awards she has received, Vicere has been named a Top Mental Health First Aid Instructor for Pennsylvania and recently was honored as National Youth Mental Health Instructor of the Year by the National Council for Mental Health Wellbeing.
• Whitney Stringer (2002) graduated from Penn State and, after a yearlong stint driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, embarked on a public relations career. She began working for a boutique agency in Washington, D.C., but when that firm was sold she eventually decided to strike out on her own. She formed the D.C.-based Whitney Springer PR & Events, which she says is “focused on representing brands, people and organizations that have a social impact.” Her primary market is underserved and under-represented populations, such as Black-owned and women-owned businesses, and organizations dedicated to uplifting those communities. This year marks her business’s 11th year. During that time she has been recognized, in numerous national publications for her work with large and small businesses, named an “Unconventional PR Powerhouse” by Northern Virginia Magazine and honored by Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.
In addition to honoring the 2023 Maroon & Gray Society Class, the celebration also will serve as an important fundraiser for the SCASD Education Foundation. Proceeds from this year’s event will be designated to the Richard M. Bunnell ’49 Memorial Fund to help fund student extracurricular opportunities across all grade levels at every school in the district.
After Bunnell, who received SCASD’s Distinguished Alumni Award and served on the school board for 30 years, died in 2022, his family established the fund in his name through the Education Foundation.
Previous Maroon & Gray Society celebrations have raised $50,000 or more to help fund items such as new uniforms for the marching band, seed funding for the Mental Health Matters Fund and grants for teacher-led initiatives and important classroom equipment and materials through through the Mardi Lowry McDonough ’87 Student Opportunities Fund.
